70, NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



whence it springs forth on its prey, catching a fly in the air, and 

 hardly ever touching the ground, but returning still to the same 

 stand for many times together. 



I perceive there are more than one species of the motacilla 

 trochilus. Mr. Durham supposes, in "Ray's Philos. Letters," that 

 he has discovered three. In these there is again an instance of 

 some very common birds that have as yet no English name. 



Mr. Stillingfleet makes a question whether the black-cap {motacilla 

 atricapilla) be a bird of passage or not : I think there is no doubt 

 of it : for, in April, in the first fine weather, they come trooping, 

 ail at once, into these parts, but are never seen in the winter. 

 They are delicate songsters.* 



Numbers of snipes breed every summer in some moory ground on 

 the verge of this parish. It is very amusing to see the cock bird 

 on wing at that time, and to hear his piping and humming 

 notes. 



I have had no opportunity yet of procuring any of those mice 

 which I mentioned to you in to\vn. The person that brought me the 

 last says they are plenty in harvest, at which time I will take care 

 to get more ; and will endeavour to put the matter out of doubt 

 whether it be a nondescript species or not. 



I suspect much there may be two species of water-rats. Ray 

 says, and Linnaeus after him, that the water-rat is web-footed 

 behind. Now I have discovered a rat on the banks of our little 

 stream that is not web-footed, and yet is an excellent swimmer and 

 diver : it answers exactly to the inns amphibius of Linnaeus (see 

 Syst. Nat.} which he says " natat in fossis et urinatur" I should 

 be glad to procure one lt plantispalmais. n \ Linnaeus seems to be 

 in a puzzle about his mus amphibius, and to doubt whether it differs 

 from his mus terrestris j which if it be, as he allows, the " mus 



* The black-cap warbler, Sylvia atricafiilla,\^t\\a.m, is a rather late summer visitant, 

 and his arrival is immediately betrayed either by his song, or by the few peculiar notes 

 warbled as he flits from bush to bush. The voice is much clearer in tone than any of the 

 other warblers, the nightingale excepted ; he is a delightful addition to our summer song- 

 sters. The black-cap has a very extensive geographical distribution, reaching northward 

 to Norway and Lapland, and we have good authorities for its occurrence in Africa, Japan, 

 Java, Madeira, and the Azores. Mr. Bennet has copied a note from Mr. Rennie's edition, 

 in which the latter states : " Dr. Heineken informs us, that it (the black-cap! is stationary 

 in Madeira, consequently Sir W. Jardine is wrong in thinking our birds retire thither." 

 We have no doubt whatever in Dr. Heineken being right, but it does not follow from that, 

 that some do not migrate there also. The song-thrush generally is stationary in Great 

 Britain, but hundreds migrate to and from every year, so do gold-crests, and many othef 

 species. "Where it is probable they partly retire," are the words of the original note. 



t There is only one species of water-rat in Great Britain, Anncola anifhibiits, 

 Desmarest. The feet are not webbed or palmated. The black coloured water-rat of the 

 r.orth is now considered as a variety only. 



